I had an Alienware laptop that that lasted through the warranty period and eventually crapped out with a couple problems on the way. Since then I have gone with MSI and been totally pleased. One MSI machine had the video card die in year 3 . I had the 4 store year warranty and they replaced the video card. Interestingly the reputable store who provided the warranty had a policy that if the problem was not rectified in 5 business days they would replace the laptop. On the afternoon of the 5th day it was fixed. I would not buy another Alienware from a service perspective but this is my opinion only. I have no doubt there are many happy Alienware purchasers out there.

Bit late to this party...never owned an Alienware computer but heard nothing but bad things about them.  Consider if you are still looking to get a good pre-built, it's really worth looking into local computer shops (if they exist where you live).   Most will gladly build a computer for you, and usually have pre-configured builds to choose from which you can customized to best suit your needs.  Best of all it will have a warranty such if you have problems they will service it, both in or out of warranty.  A win-win so to speak, though compared to DIY all this will cost you a little more.

@Gregg_Seipp,

For years I bought and built my own PCs. But then with water cooling and overclocking becoming the norm I decided it was time to leave it to the professionals. My last two PCs were built by Chillblast - a British company that specialises in this.

You can customise your list of components and ask them for advice where necessary. Yes, you pay more because they have wages to pay and you get a warranty. But that brings peace of mind.

I'd only had my new PC 48 hours when the graphics card failed. Trying to prove that to a retailer had I bought components myself would not have been straight forward.

But Chillblast accepted my claim the card was faulty and arranged for a new card to be sent by courier which was 150GBP more expensive and didn't charge for it.

I installed the new card and it's been great ever since. I have a 2 year on-site warranty with a further 3 years return to base.

If there is a company like Chillblast in the UK there must be an equivalent in your country. Don't buy branded PCs. You can see from previous comments they can be problematic.

20 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

I installed the new card and it's been great ever since. I have a 2 year on-site warranty with a further 3 years return to base.

Thanks Ray.  Yeah, warranty is important to me and figures high as a factor in my decision.  I'm not planning to overclock...no desire to do that.  Water cooling worries me because I've heard of them leaking. I just want something strong that I can count on that I can get fixed if it breaks.  Folks mentioned MicroCenter and I'm looking there.  If they can put me something together I'll go with that.

@Gregg_Seipp, a quick look at that site reveals you can select your components. If you have a budget please let us know so a system can be suggested.

I have the i9-13900K running at 5.5 with no overclocking. Get the fastest CPU and GPU you can afford. Power supply of 1000w and no more than 32Gb DDR5 RAM.

A quality motherboard is also important.

On 6/6/2024 at 3:19 AM, Ray Proudfoot said:

no more than 32Gb DDR5 RAM.

Why no more than 32GB?  I'd think 64GB would be better?  

24 minutes ago, Gregg_Seipp said:

Why no more than 32GB?  I'd think 64GB would be better?  

I can only speak for my own experience using P3Dv5. The FS Labs Concorde is the heaviest user of RAM I’ve ever seen. It exceeds 25Gb at times. That’s 7Gb of free memory.

If you buy more it’s unlikely ever to be used. Money wasted.

On 6/6/2024 at 7:55 AM, Gregg_Seipp said:

 Water cooling worries me because I've heard of them leaking.

AIO (All In One) liquid coolers are pretty much completely reliable, leaks being virtually unheard of.
They are far more efficient at keeping things cool and generally, make much less noise.
I have used Corsair cooling solutions since around 2015.
I have only had one fail, it wasn't a leak and was a pump failure as the result of a power supply fault.
At the moment I am using one of these: Corsair iCUE H150i PRO XT RGB Liquid CPU Cooler (360mm Radiator, Three 120mm Corsair ML Series PWM Fans, 400 to 2,400 RPM, Advanced RGB Lighting and Fan Control with Software, Easy to Install) Black : Amazon.co.uk: PC & Video Games

Edited June 8, 20242 yr by Reader

@Ray Proudfoot @Reader  Why not one of these then.  Prebuilt, yes.  But, Corsair.  And 2 year warranty.  

https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-i7500-Gaming-PC/dp/B0CKXTTRKG/ref=sr_1_2?crid=11BQZX7WPMRGU&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.PzfylsTIRQ-BssR07vcze49TB2ECaiJxO-1ZX17GOuKKQncO5mjCzzOvoCS0PAGHwO3mgfH1ENlTGfKm0i9QBlR-E32sKXdSMCAuNRppf_3eOSq63zxUITFwEzigXsJKtrA2AXlZevcL31Na1O8_1hr6PWhQ8wjATxPqAtPsTF6P8kDNPXNHXOVnZCFwmLc6xxPKKZgpxQnnZlj2AH4R4w3IGLQwI41tYX90jhjFsjw.Q9QZQdEXHS21RP_odrj5x-oG8rPPSDIdiqG2KLdjjNs&dib_tag=se&keywords=corsair%2Bgaming%2Bcomputer%2B4090&qid=1717845435&sprefix=corsair%2Bgaming%2Bcomputer%2B4090%2Caps%2C180&sr=8-2&th=1

 

@Gregg_Seipp, it's an excellent spec but I have reservations about buying something that expensive from Amazon. I'd rather deal direct with the people building it so you can discuss individual items with them.

That's why I suggested a custom builder.

2 hours ago, Gregg_Seipp said:

@Ray Proudfoot @Reader  Why not one of these then.  Prebuilt, yes.  But, Corsair.  And 2 year warranty.  

https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-i7500-Gaming-PC/dp/B0CKXTTRKG/ref=sr_1_2?crid=11BQZX7WPMRGU&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.PzfylsTIRQ-BssR07vcze49TB2ECaiJxO-1ZX17GOuKKQncO5mjCzzOvoCS0PAGHwO3mgfH1ENlTGfKm0i9QBlR-E32sKXdSMCAuNRppf_3eOSq63zxUITFwEzigXsJKtrA2AXlZevcL31Na1O8_1hr6PWhQ8wjATxPqAtPsTF6P8kDNPXNHXOVnZCFwmLc6xxPKKZgpxQnnZlj2AH4R4w3IGLQwI41tYX90jhjFsjw.Q9QZQdEXHS21RP_odrj5x-oG8rPPSDIdiqG2KLdjjNs&dib_tag=se&keywords=corsair%2Bgaming%2Bcomputer%2B4090&qid=1717845435&sprefix=corsair%2Bgaming%2Bcomputer%2B4090%2Caps%2C180&sr=8-2&th=1

 

It looks like a monster and Tom's Hardware think it's excellent:
 Corsair Vengeance i7500 Review: Fast and Furious | Tom's Hardware (tomshardware.com)

Corsair's are also available from BestBuy...Excellent machines...

Hello everyone, 

I have the Dell Alienware Gaming Monitor (AW3423DW) and I am very happy with it! Super picture quality so all in all for the money very great screen for gaming.

Thanks to a VESA adapter I found, I have finally been able to mount my monitor for about 2 months. If anyone has the same problem as me, I would be happy to share the link to the adapter:
https://www.vesa-adapter.com/for-dell-alienware-gaming-monitor-(aw3423dw)--75x75mm/182/shop-details

So a very clear recommendation from me. 

On 6/5/2024 at 11:55 PM, Gregg_Seipp said:

I just want something strong that I can count on that I can get fixed if it breaks.  Folks mentioned MicroCenter and I'm looking there.  If they can put me something together I'll go with that.

This NC computer shop looks pretty compelling.  This is exactly what I was talking to in my above post.  With two locations, hopefully there's one near you. 

 They are Out-Of-This-World